At that time the bridge was both the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and had the record for the longest distance between piers for any cable-stayed bridge. It was more than 250 m longer between piers than the previous record. This record was lost in 1999 to the Tatara Bridge in Japan. Its record for length for a cable-stayed bridge was lost in 2004 to the 2883 meters of the Rio-Antirrio. At the end of construction, the bridge had cost $465 million and was financed by Natixis.

The cable-stayed design was chosen because it was both cheaper and more resistant to high winds than a suspension bridge.

Structure

The span, wide, is divided into four lanes for traffic and two lanes for pedestrians. The pylons, made of concrete, are shaped as upside-down Ys. They weigh more than 20,000 tons and are tall. More than 19,000 tons of steel were used...Read More